Auckland City Mission serves up Christmas lunch

Auckland City Mission chef Debbie Tugaga serves up Christmas lunch. Photo / Michael Craig

Hot ham, roast vegetables, and Christmas pudding with icecream are on the menu at Auckland City Mission for those who would otherwise go without this festive season.

The mission is serving up three sit-down meal services between 8am and 1.30pm on Christmas Day.

Auckland city missioner Helen Robinson said the day started with breakfast for about 300 people in the street community and vulnerable people housed in emergency accommodation and boarding houses.

It connected people and gave them a place to belong, Robinson said.

“To come in here, to be acknowledged, to be recognised, to be called by name, to be included, to have a sense of belonging — it’s just lovely to hear the Christmas music and the laughter and the chatter and the banter going on.”

Another 200 people will come to the mission in the afternoon for lunch.

Demand for Auckland City Mission services has doubled compared with 2019, before the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Robinson said it had been a tough year between the Auckland floods and the cost of living crisis.

“There’s not enough money coming in to pay for weekly expenses.”

Demand for services had increased further in the lead-up to Christmas, with the mission and its partner agencies Papakura, Ngā Whare Waatea, and Manurewa marae providing about 8000 food parcels for whānau in a week, she said.

That’s four times the number of parcels that would usually be distributed in a week. Each parcel feeds a family of four for three meals for four days.

“We have a resourcing problem and a logistics problem — we literally cannot do one more than the thousands we are doing,” Robinson said.

“I truly believe that there are many many families throughout our country, and certainly I can speak here with authority in Tāmaki, that will be going without this Christmas. There’s just too much need for us to be able to respond.

“We’ve faithfully done every one that we can.”

Christmas was a humbling time, Robinson said.

“We see the greatest of generosity from people across our city and at the same time see that the reality of need doesn’t disappear just because it’s Christmas.

“And of course, what we know at the mission, is that need continues into January and right throughout the year. Hunger does not go on holiday.”